Discovery: An Operation: Assassination Subplot
by AmazonTurk
Summary: Snooping through Tseng's files leads to a shocking discovery for one of the new rookies.  How will she deal with the knowledge that she's a...father?  What punishment is in store for breaking and entering into Tseng's office?  Find out within.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This goes hand in hand in hand with 'Operation: Assassination'; 'Return of the Green Sludge' and 'Evidence of Sephiroth's Humanity' the latter two fics written by dantesdarkqueen._**

**_Disclaimer: Squeenix owns it, not me._**

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If failure was Kandi's biggest fear, then curiousity was her biggest annoyance. She hated surprises, she hated not knowing what was being said about her and she hated that Tseng had a file on each of his Turks that contained privileged information. Herself included. So at 2 am on a Sunday morning, she swiped a copy of Tseng's access card through the doors of the ShinRa Building, allowing herself access. She had already preprogrammed the security cameras to begin a random empty feed at exactly 1:55 am, so her detection in the building would not be discovered. 

Being head of the IT department had it's perks.

Unfortunately, with all her hacking abilities, all her knowledge of security systems, and tampering with electronic equipment, she could not access a hard copy file with her information on it.

Damn lack of technology.

The individual profiles of the Turks were kept in Tseng's office. In Tseng's office with a security system installed in it. In a file cabinet that was only accessible via Tseng's thumbprint. She smirked. Challenges were fun.

She already had a copy of Tseng's access card and the code for the security system. A little well placed recon in the infamous airconditioning vents had given her that thirteen character code, which was now memorized. Entering the elevator, she once again used Tseng's card to grant her clearance to the Turk floors. Of course, she had access herself, but should anything be suspected of tampering with, she didn't want her digital DNA to be shown as being in the vicinity tonight. Paranoia was sometimes a good thing.

The elevator dinged and she made her way down the vacant hallways of the Turk Headquarters towards Tseng's office. She smirked in the knowledge that none of her collegues would be anywhere near work on a Saturday night, now Sunday morning. They were either still partying or passed out drunk somewhere. She had claimed cramps and gone back to the penthouse she shared with Ram and Katrina, though she suspected they wouldn't be home until sometime around noon.

Tseng's office was entered and the code of 4jzv0329;4334 was entered into his security system, effectively disarming it. She pulled a latex glove over the leather glove of her left hand. Tseng was left handed, so the print needed would be on his left hand. Praying silently to Shiva, she pressed the latex covered thumb over the thumb pad, hoping the oils from Tseng's print last time would still be prevalent enough to read. The device beeped in approval and the lock released.

Damn...she _was_ good.

She quickly went through the files until she found her own. Then she looked again and grinned. Well, since she was here...it would be a shame not to be nosy. Heh heh. She picked up Niki's profile and thumbed through it.

_Turk: Nicole Christine Barsi  
Status: Clinically Insane Rookie  
Specialties: Under COVERS ops, weapons, fire, martial arts, bio weapons involving animal toxins, chocolate_

_Background:  
Niki was adopted from an unknown birth mother when she was six days old and lived as an only child to a relatively normal couple. She was always highly intelligent, reading very early and displaying a well-advanced vocabulary - on the level of most well-spoken twentysomethings when she was in grade school. Other children rejected her at an early age because she was just labeled as "different" so she bonded with the animal world early on. Her parents were trying to be a bit too "normal" for their own good and decided to try and "normalize" Niki - sending her to shrinks who put her on too much medication and whatnot. The medications, which she had been fighting against over the course of her whole life, kept getting upped in dosage. Eventually the combination and sheer magnitude of the dosage gave her a minor heart attack and she decided enough was enough. _

_As her heart healed and she got back on her feet, the stress built up and her grades began to fail - she dropped out of school and ran away at sixteen. Out on the streets, she joined up with a pack of stray dogs and became like one of them, running with the pack and hiding in the shadows, eating whatever she could. To present, she retains her ability to speak with all animals, hence her knowledge of biotoxins and uncanny ability to get animals to do what she wants them to. She is fervently against animal testing and "liberates" ShinRa test subjects whenever possible. Her mind and body stopped aging at sixteen due to a psychosomatic reaction triggered by her unhappy childhood, the medications, and her wanting to stay young and happy. Most of the time, she acted like a precocious child when confronted by people._

_It was Kandi who brought her to the Turks - the former HoneyBee girl was called in, along with Reno and Rude, to investigate a disturbance on 52nd Street involving a crazy girl and a pack of wild animals. With the dogs placed under ShinRa's care, to join the Turks as K-9 units, and Niki's refusal to return to her family, Kandi, Rude, and Reno brought her to Tseng. The Wutain man was a bit apprehenisive, to say the least. A quick exam in the Medical Facility went very badly - three doctors, severn nurses, four interns and a janitor were bitten during an attempted blood test. So she was ruled Clinically Insane and immediately sent on her first mission. She bonded quickly with Reno and once she reached her prolonged legal age of nineteen, they began a relationship._

Kandi giggled, remembering when they found Niki. Boy, she stunk. She flipped through another file. Akalara. Hmmm...what did Tseng know about her longtime friend that she didn't?

_Turk: Akalara Forest  
Status: Rookie  
Specialties: Stealth assassinations, 'accidental' demolitions and explosions, undercover espionage, sabotage, firearms_

_Akalara Tearsong inherited her name in truth, from the day of her birth. Born the daughter of a drunk and his drug-dealing girlfriend, she grew up in one of the worst sections of Sector 5's slums, used to scream-matches and beatings whenever her father came home drunk, which was most nights. It didn't help that her appearance was so unusual; nobody is quite sure where the green hair came from._

_In the end, Akalara was abandoned to the mercy of the streets when she was four years old, and her parents became sick of taking care of her. She found a mentor of sorts, changed her last name to Forest, and managed to join a street-gang. It was there that she picked up her extensive knowledge of explosives, handguns, and disguises; in order to avoid law-enforcement and gain money for the gang, the kids had to disguise themselves as other people. This is also how she became so good at sabotage, and undercover work. She, as well as several others in the gang, were usually sent out to infiltrate rival gangs and upset their plans, no matter what those plans might be. There are still several unsolved cases of buildings that seemed to have spontaneously exploded, yet unsolved in the Midgar data-base, that are generally attributed to this or that anti-Shinra terrorist group._

_By the time she turned fifteen, Akalara had advanced to nearly the top of the gang. She was the 'girl' of the leader, and as such practically ruled the entire gang. But she wanted something else; her friend and mentor in the gang had died during a turf-war, and she didn't want to suffer the same fate. So she got out of the gang, cut all ties with it, and took to living on the Upper Plate. She was still on the streets, but now she was able to find a job, and she got one at a club called the Black Cat. At first she was one of the bar-maids, but within a week she picked up the best moves of the dancers and auditioned when a position opened up._

_She got the job._

_With her exotic good looks and natural 'assets', she became one of the most popular topless dancers in the bar. Until she was eighteen, this was how she lived her life; sleeping in homeless shelters or the street, hording her money, and dancing for the pleasure of strangers during the nights. That is, until she attracted the attention of one General Sephiroth, who was fascinated not only by her looks, but also by the fact that she knew what it was like to be different. He used his connections to get her into the Turks training program, and in return she spent her nights in his bed. She developed friendships with both Kandi and Zack, as well as Sephiroth and Reno, but held herself aloof from the other Turks and her fellow trainees. She was too used to getting hurt by what she saw as 'rivals,' even when they were supposed to be team-mates. Betrayals and backstabs (sometimes literally) were fairly common among the members of her gang, and even now Akalara cannot rid herself of the habit of sleeping with her back to a wall and her eyes open, not showing her back to anybody she does not trust._

_Her arrangement with Sephiroth only lasted for about five months; he and Zack were sent to Nibelheim, and the rest is history. With her lover MIA, Akalara turned to Reno, who had been attracted to her ever since Zack introduced her. She also devoted the remainder of her time to fine-tuning her skills, developing a deftness for kunai as well so she would not be hindered were she forced into hand-to-hand combat. These, just as with her twin 9mms, are kept hidden somewhere on her person at all times._

_When she was twenty, Akalara was accepted as a member of the Turks. However, she was not seen as necessary to their current objectives, and was so demoted to a mere bodyguard. Her charge was Rufus, and as with all of the others she used her body to gain favor with him. She enjoys sex, but she knows precisely how to manipulate men to get precisely what she wants from them using sex. It was a survival skill as much as a pleasure, and occasionally she still uses it as such._

_And so she gained much favor with the Vice President, and soon after Meteor, she was repromoted as a full member of the Turks, this time for good. She also resumed her previous relationship with Reno, and has also begun an affair with her coworker Revan. Out of these arrangements, she hopes to gain some sort of stability. There has never been anything but change and upheaval in her life, and she wants someone to be there for her at all times; that is why she is so willing to utterly disgrace Niki. She is a rival to her hopes for the future, and as such she much be eliminated. She cannot be killed, since she is a fellow Turk, but she can be destroyed. Akalara places her trust in very few people; Kandi, Revan, Reno, and Brit are the only people she willingly shows her back to. Everyone else among her coworkers is seen as either an ally or a rival, or a possible stepping-stone in the future. She is not cold by nature, but she does come off like that towards other people; only her friends know that she can be fun and friendly when she wants to be and she feels relaxed enough to be able to let her guard down._

Gods damn, she knew everyone before they entered the Turks. Okay, time to get down to business. What did Tseng have on her?

_Turk: Kandi  
Status: Rookie  
Specialties: Hi-tech espionage, hacking, undercover ops_

_Background:  
A former HoneyBee Girl, Kandi made her debut in ShinRa not as a Turk, but as a secretary for SOLDIER, First Class, Zackary Fair. Having partaken of her services on a regular basis, Zack discovered a way to fill his need for a secretary as well as his insatiable desire for the brown-haired, red-streaked beauty. He hired her full-time as his 'Personal Assistant' where she remained until Zack's unfortunate death._

_After Zack's death, Kandi found herself still employed with ShinRa but without her boss. A resourceful and intelligent young woman, Kandi found ways to make herself useful still to ShinRa. With her outgoing and almost perverse personality, she formed bonds with many of the departments, including the Information Technology (IT) Department, where she developed her unique skills for network hacking, able to connect to any electronic device fed through wire or satelite. It was with this new found knowledge that she developed the technology to send an instant remote charge to a dead cell phone, giving the device life and activating the GPS necessary for Turk retrieval._

_During her time as Zack's secretary, Kandi formed a strong bond with Reno of the Turks and later his partner, Rude and Boss, Tseng. It was this friendship that propelled Kandi to join the Turks and begin her promising career._

_Rumors:  
During her time as a secretary, an incident occurred in which a 'Green Sludge' was produced and accidently mass distributed amongst the ranks of SOLDIERS, Turks, and scientists within the ShinRa Corporation. The 'Green Sludge' had gender altering capabilities, turning males to females and vice versa. At this time, Kandi had been having a very active sexual relationship with her boss, Zackary Fair. Having been at the receiving end of sex all her adult life, Kandi wished to try it as the opposite gender, convincing Zack to play female to her male. It is not known for sure whether or not the two succeeded in this role play, nor if any offspring were conceived due to the alleged tryst. Unfortunately, Zack died less than two weeks later._

Kandi breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but it was still very personal. Nobody had known about what she and Zack had done with the sludge. Well, except Akalara, but she would never tell. She was about to put the files back when she decided to see if the remaining pages held anything of interest. Blood type, date of birth, height, weight. Hmm...another section.

_Update:  
After infiltration into the Deepground facilities beneath the old ShinRa buildings, the following file was found amongst some of Professor Hojo's old documents:_

_Upon examination of Specimen Z, it was found that the subject was one week pregnant with a healthy fetus. _

_Memory extraction and analysis revealed that the specimen and a female known as 'Kandi' had accessed my remaining supply of Experiment GS-56, along with two doses of the antidote. This was swallowed, and the two copulated in alternate gender forms. At this point in time, Kandi impregnated Specimen Z._

Kandi sat down in Tseng's chair, her legs suddenly unable to support her.

_The specimen was likely unaware of his parental state. He is not even a month along, yet. I shall keep both he and Specimen C in a catatonic stasis until the pregnancy is complete. A specimen as valuable as this child cannot be risked. Specimen Z's research program shall begin after delivery. In the meantime, Specimen C is cleared for experimentation. He shall bear the brunt of my ideas until Z is ready for analysis. There are several theories I have concerning the Jenova cells which I want to test out further..._

_Almost lost the two of them today. Who told that imbecile to put more mako into Specimen Z's IV line? We are only using just enough mako to keep him in a coma. Any more than that precise dosage and he will die, along with the developing specimen. What does a genius have to do to get a little obedience around here?_

_I shall have to baby them through these next few days, until the poisoning has passed and they are back to normal. The idiot who injected the line shall join the ranks of my precious specimens. Suitable usage for a fool such as he._

_The past nine months have been worth the effort. The baby was delivered via Caesarean at 9:45 pm Midgar Time, a healthy baby girl of complete development and no visible mutations. The mako has already seeped into her system through the umbilical cord; the glow of her eyes tells the observer all they need to know. As for the parent, he has been installed in a mako tank for recuperation. Within a few days, it will be impossible to tell that he has ever born a child. Likely he will never even know about it, much less remember it. I will begin experimentation on him once he has recovered. The child shall be sent to the main labs at Midgar, perhaps even placed in the 'secret' program. It would be best if the 'father,' Kandi, never knew about the existence of her daughter. Or that her 'mother' lives. To the rest of the world, Specimen Z, or Zack Fair, has ceased to exist. _

_His daughter, by the same token, is non-existent._

Tears streamed down Kandi's face as she continued reading.

_At Present:  
The offspring of Zack Fair was found in the Deepground facility. Andria has suffered no apparent physical or mental harm from being exposed to the environment of Deepground. However, she does exhibit_ _increased reflexes, mental powers, and instinctive combat abilities, as well as all the more charming aspects of both of her parents. W.R.O. Commissioner, Reeve Tuesti, has entrusted the care of the child to Tifa Lockheart and Cloud Strife at present._

Kandi broke. She couldn't help it. She kept re-reading the parts of Zack being held captive, subjected to Hojo's experiments, being referred to as a 'specimen'. And, he had been carrying her child.

Their child. She had a child with Zack.

Flipping out her cell phone, she dialed the only person she knew would understand, sobbing out their name. "Akalara?"

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**_A/N: Stay tuned...reviews are welcomed, as always._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: More discoveries..._**

**_Disclaimer: Squeenix owns the world. I own this black t-shirt I'm wearing. Johnny Depp owns the face splashed across my breasts, though._**

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_**Three in the morning on Sunday and she gets a godsdamned phone call from a hysterical Amazon. And why couldn't the silly twit call one of her drunken counterparts instead of her? Gods only knew that. She had just, _just_ convinced Revan to try "The Hook" when the call came in from Kandi. What was so fucking important that it couldn't wait until after she had shown him the joys of being whipped into submission by a dominatrix?

And Kandi was being secretive and paranoid, more so than normal. She had told Akalara not to use her own access card when she reached the building; that she would let her in when she got there. Akalara pulled her car to a stop outside of the ShinRa building and exited, making her way toward the front door. The glass slid opened and Kandi stood there, hair a mess and tears running down her face.

"Holy fuck, why are you crying?" Akalara asked, instantly knowing something was terribly, terribly wrong. In all the years she had known Kandi, she had never seen the woman cry. Ever. Not even after they received word that Zack and Seph had died in Nibelheim. She may have cried in the privacy of her own apartment, but never where anyone could see her. She had a thing about showing weakness, just as Akalara herself did, which was one reason they understood each other so well.

Kandi thrust a file folder into her arms and turned, leading the way to the elevators. "Start reading," she croaked out. "There's a lot to get through and we've got 69 floors to ride up."

Akalara flipped open the file, seeing Kandi's photo and name splashed across the front. She read in silence as they rode up to the Turk floors. She snickered when she got to the part about the Green Sludge. "Wow, everything goes in our files, huh?" she asked. Kandi flipped the pages to the back and pointed.

"Even things _we_ don't know about," she said bitterly.

Akalara read through Hojo's report about 'Speciman Z's' pregnancy. "Holy..." she trailed off as she devoured the words. The elevator dinged and she blindly stepped out, instinctively following her friend. "Whoa, so your kid was in Deepground?! And she's alive?! How could they not tell you this?"

Kandi shook her head, tears beginning again. "I don't know," she cried, burying her face in her hands as she sat cross legged on Tseng's desk. "I mean, gods this is just unreal! Zack and I have a kid together. He never even new. He was kept in a fucking coma during the gestation period and then delivered via caesarean. I bet Hojo had a fucking field day ripping a life from a SOLDIER, especially Zack." She wiped her eyes. "I can't even begin to imagine what Zack went through. And he didn't even die in Nibelheim like they told us! He was alive for five fucking years after that!"

Akalara checked the dates. "I was still in training then," she said. "I didn't know anything about it, otherwise I would have told you."

Kandi nodded. "I know," she said. "Gods, everything is so messed up. We thought we lost them both in Nibelheim, but Zack was still alive. Had we known that...damn it." She was thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder what she looks like...my kid. You know? Does she look like Zack or me or both? I don't know if another set of eyes like his ever existed in the world." She smiled fondly. "Be cool if they did, you know? I miss his eyes."

Akalara hopped onto the desk next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Sounds like you really cared for him," she said with an arched eyebrow. "Kinda like something more than just boss and employee."

Kandi laughed. "Ah, you know how it was," she said. "Zack was my hero. He saved me from the Honey Bee, you know? He gave me a opportunity to be more than just titts, ass and a stinger. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here today."

"Did you love him?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I did," she confessed. "Still do, actually. You know, I wasn't _in_ love with him, but I did love him. Same as I did Seph and you, you know?"

Akalara nodded and ran her fingers through Kandi's hair. She laughed and nudged her shoulder. "Remember when Seph cashed in your vouchers you gave him for his birthday?" she asked.

Kandi snorted. "Yeah, and you and Zack broke his table?" she said with a smirk. "Your first ass fucking."

"No one could do it like Zack," Akalara said wistfully.

"That's true," Kandi said. "I think Reno could vouche for that, too."

"Gods, I'd pay good money to have seen that!" the green haired woman moaned. She then grew serious. "You remember how after we heard about Nibelheim that I requested a leave of absense?"

Kandi nodded. "Yeah, you were gone for nearly a year," she said. "That sucked, Man. I really needed you back then, but at least I still had Re."

"I know," Akalara said, biting her lip. "I really needed you too, but I had to go. I had to leave before I started showing too bad."

Kandi's head whipped around so fast it actually cracked. "Ow," she said, rubbing it. "Started to show? Oh Shiva...you were pregnant."

Akalara nodded. "Azrael looks just like Seph," she said softly. "Silver hair and everything. I have to die it black every week so no one knows. I know Hojo is gone, but still...if someone knows that Sephiroth has a son...I won't let them hurt Azrael like they did Seph. I won't. I can't let my son go through what his father did."

Kandi jumped off Tseng's desk and started putting the files back into the safe. "I want to see her," she said with determination. "I've got to see what she looks like. Damn it, our kids are the same age. They should be growing up together! Where is Azrael?"

"He stays with an old friend during the week and I see him mostly on the weekends," she answered. "Except on weekends when I'm...entertaining."

"Gotcha," she said with a smirk. She slammed Tseng's file cabinet shut and glared. "I'm giving the Bossman a piece of my mind on Monday. I can't believe he's kept this from me."

Akalara followed her friend as they left their boss' office. "So, you actually want to meet her?" she asked.

"Of course," she said softly. "She's mine and Zack's daughter. I owe it to him and to her to give her a good, happy life."

"Just one question," Akalara said. "How are you going to introduce yourself? As her mother...or her father?"

Kandi paled slightly as the elevator arrived. "Shit," she stammered. "That's a damn good question."

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**_A/N: How messed up is this? But how fun! Kandi's such a fuck up. I love her though! Review!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Continuing on..._**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing by the Nerds I am consuming. The candy. Jesus, people, I'm not a cannibal! Anymore..._**

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Tseng rubbed his eyes wearily as he went over some paperwork at six o'clock Monday morning. As much as he would never admit it to any of his team, he hated paperwork. Who cares how a target was eliminated, just as long as it was done? In his opinion, the paperwork should have one line: "Target Eliminated: Yes/No" with the appropriate word circled in red. Leviathan, how easy that would be. But no. A detailed report listing how many gun shots it took, or stab wounds, or volts of electricity, or grams of chocolate or whatever had to be given. 

Gods, he hated paperwork.

A quick rapping at his door was a welcomed interruption to his mind numbing work. "Come in," he called, trying to keep the relief out of his voice. The door opened and a very pissed off looking Amazon came into his office. Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Kandi, you're here early. And dressed properly. And not hung over. Are you ill?"

The Turk rookie stared at him as she made her way to his file cabinet and removed a latex glove, putting it over her left hand. Pressing her left thumb against the pad, Tseng watched in shock as the cabinet swung open and she fished out her file. She tossed it onto his desk and looked into his eyes with nothing short of sheer hurt and pain expressed in her brown depths. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered hoarsely.

Tseng sat back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face in a pained gesture. He motioned for her to sit across from him. She sat at the edge of his desk instead, staring down at him hard. "Tuesti asked me not to," he told her. "The W.R.O., for the time being, has control of the ShinRa Electric Power Company. Due to the misdeeds of the company in the past, we are being watched very carefully for any signs of any ethical regression. And since you were recently accepted into the Turks, Reeve did not feel as if you would be a suitable...parent to the child. With the control the W.R.O. has over us, I had no choice but to acquiest his request."

He looked up at her, his brow knitting together in concern as tears ran down her face. "I wouldn't be a suitable parent," she whispered. She looked straight into his eyes. "Do you think that, Tseng?"

Tseng stood up and enveloped her in his arms, holding her closely and stroking her hair. "No, I don't," he told her, kissing her head. "I think that you can excel at anything you set your mind to do. And I have complete and utter faith in your abilities as a parent."

Kandi wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his jacket and crying. "This hurts," she said softly. "This hurts so badly to know all that Zack went through and all that Andria has been through, and I'm just now knowing about it."

Tseng nodded and rested his chin on the top of her head. He could attribute his recent increase in tenderness to his relationship with Elena. The woman had taught him how be more...understanding and compassionate. Damn her. "For what it's worth," he told her gently. "I am sorry."

She nodded and pulled away from him slightly. "You knew Zack was alive," she said. He nodded hesitantly. "And Rude and Reno, they knew as well."

"It was classified information," he explained. "Non-Turk personnel, or even those in the training program, didn't know. Elena doesn't even know."

"I understand," she said, clearing her throat and wiping her eyes. There was nothing left she could do for Zack. But for Andria... "I want to see my daughter. Please, Tseng."

Tseng nodded and stepped away, picking up his phone and dialing a number. He was silent for a moment as the phone rang. "Reeve," he finally said. "This is Tseng. Would you be so kind as to come by my office as soon as you can?" He paused, nodding his head. "Thank you. See you in an hour then."

Kandi smiled at him as he hung up. "Thank you."

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Reeve walked into Tseng's office an hour later, surprised to see a female Turk waiting with him. Tseng rose from his desk and extended his hand cordially. "Thank you for stopping by, Reeve," Tseng said politely, though his eyes were flashing with something the Commissioner did not care for. "I know it's still very early." 

"Quite all right," Reeve said, turning to the female. "I don't believe I'm acquainted with your colleague."

Tseng laughed. "Of course you are, Reeve," he said as he sat back down. "This is Kandi. She's been with ShinRa for eight years and was recently accepted into the Turks. She first started as Zackary Fair's secretary."

"Ah!" Reeve exclaimed with dawning recognition. "Of course. I remember you, my dear."

"Good to see you again, Commissioner," she said with a plastered on smile as she accepted his hand.

Reeve cleared his throat nervously. "So, Tseng, what is it that you wished to see me about?" he asked.

"Actually, it was Kandi that requested an audience with you," he said, steepling his fingers together as he stared at the man. "It seems that she is more talented at covert ops than I first anticipated. She made a discovery while pilfering through my confidential files."

Reeve paled slightly. "Really?" he asked, turning to the woman. "So, you mean to tell me, you broke into your superior's office and obtained confidential information that was never to be seen?"

"Cut the bullshit, Reeve; I can kill you in thirteen different ways with your necktie alone," she told him calmly, flicking a piece of lint off her pant leg. "What fucking right do you have to keep mine and Zack's daughter from me?"

Reeve's mouth went dry, realizing what a dangerous situation he was in, trapped in a room with two very skilled Turks. "When the child was discovered after Deepground, I thought it would be in her best interest to be placed in a stable home," he explained. "The first choice was Zack's parents; but further investigation led us to find that they both fell victim to Geostigma. So, we went with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart and placed the girl there."

"Knowing she had a living parent, you placed her in the care of someone else?" Kandi asked. "Well, I should at least be thankful that you put her with good, trustworthy people rather than just in foster care."

"I would never do that," Reeve said. "You have to understand my position. I found this child in the midst of Deepground. She had been subjected to more horrors than an eight year old has any right to see. You're a Turk, Kandi. You kill for a living. How do you think that will affect an impressionable young girl?"

"Has Andria had a psychological evaluation?" Tseng asked, leaning back and resting a foot on the opposite knee. "Surely an idea of her mental state can give us some clue as to what she can and cannot handle?"

"She has undergone an evaluation, yes," Reeve said with a sigh. "Actually, she is a very intelligent young lady. She's probably more mature than most 16 year olds."

Kandi smirked proudly. "What do you expect? She's my daughter," she stated smugly. "I want to see her, Reeve."

Reeve nodded his reluctant consent. "I'll call Tifa and tell her," he said.

Kandi hesitated. "I-I don't want to uproot her," she said softly. "If she's happy there..."

Reeve smiled kindly and patted her hand. "I believe...I've underestimated you," he told her sincerely.

She smiled sadly. "I get that a lot," she said, rising to her feet. "Zack was the first person to ever see me for what I could be instead of what I was. When can I meet her?"

"I'll contact Tifa and call you with the plans," Reeve said. "And I am sorry you had to find out this way."

Kandi nodded. "In an ideal world, I'd be raising my daughter with the man I created her with," she said, her eyes shining with rarely seen tears. "But this isn't an ideal world we live in; so I'll take what I can get."

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_**A/N: Stay tuned...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: The next installment..._**

**_Disclaimer: Still not mine. If it was, there would be no questions left unanswered as to who Cloud REALLY loves._**

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Tifa hung up the phone and smiled. This was good. This was really good. Andria had become very curious about her birth parents and now that the only living one had discovered the girl's existence, she would get to meet her. 

"Cloud, what time is it?" she called out into the bar.

"Uh...about 3:15," he called back. "Kids should be getting home from school soon. Why?"

Tifa squealed and ran out into her bar and jumped at Cloud, capturing him in a fierce hug. "Kandi found out about Andria and wants to meet her!" she exclaimed.

Cloud's cheeks reddened at holding Tifa so close. "What?" he asked, her words sinking into his head. "For real? How did that happen?"

Tifa shook her head, literally bouncing with excitement. "I don't know, but she did! Oh, Shiva, Andria's going to be so excited!" she cried. She stopped bouncing and looked at him sadly. "You don't think she'll move out, do you?"

Cloud held her close again and comforted her. Tifa was a natural mother. She had come to love Andria just as much as Marlene and Denzel. "I guess it's a possibility," he said softly. "But, you know, the kids have all become so close. Even if she does, she'll still be by a lot. Probably spending the weekend or something."

Tifa looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "I told Reeve that they should stop in about five. Give the kids time to do their homework and eat supper."

Cloud nodded. "Good idea," he said, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. "Come on. I'll help you fix them a snack."

Tifa giggled as she followed him.

* * *

She had taken the rest of the day off after Reeve had told her to meet him at Seventh Heaven at five. She had been too nervous to work; so many possibilities running through her head. Would her daughter hate her? Would she blame her for what she'd gone through in her life? Would she not want anything to do with her? 

The penthouse she shared with Ram and Katrina seemed lonely as she walked through it. It also got her thinking...if Andria would want to live with her, it wouldn't be a very good place to raise a child. Especially considering their shared lifestyle of partying, drinking and mass fornication. She sighed and called down to their landlord, asking if there were any other available apartments for rent in the building.

Then she started thinking about food. She could cook...somewhat. Breakfast mostly. Godsdamn, but she could make a mean omelet. She would have to learn about proper nutrition for a growing child. No more beer in the fridge, no more junk food in her pockets. Well, treats were good for kids, right?

Homework. She'd have to help with homework. What was homework like for kids now? "Oh Shiva, let her be smart so she doesn't need much help," Kandi prayed, chewing on her fingernails.

Gun safety. She would have to make sure all her firearms and various other weapons were in a safe, locked place. "Oh Shiva, don't let her be smart enough to break into my safe," she prayed, tugging at her hair.

Being a parent was stressful. And she hadn't even met her daughter yet. She check her watch. Three-thirty. An hour and a half to go. She picked up her cell phone and hit speed dial. "Ak?"

"Hey, Babe. What's up?"

"I'm going to meet Andria in an hour and a half."

Silence. "Need some support? I could go with."

Kandi thought about that for a moment. "I would love it, but you know, Reeve will be there and Tifa and Cloud," she said. "I don't want her to think I'm some chicken shit that can't face an eight year old alone."

Akalara laughed. "Yeah, well, that's true," she said. "Eight year olds are pretty scary though. Remember, I've got one, too."

Kandi flopped down on the sofa, staring at her sock clad feet. "This is fucking weird," she said quietly. "I mean, damn! I have a kid."

"You sure you want to do this?" Akalara asked. "I mean, no harm, no foul, you know?"

"Nah, this is something I want to do and have to do," she said. "If she wants to live with me, I'm gonna have to move, so I'm recruiting you now for help."

"Damn it," Akalara cursed. "I think, if that happens, I'll get pissed at you so I don't have to help but we'll make up before you have the killer house warming party with the booze."

"Ha fucking ha," Kandi grumbled. "Gods damn Green Bitch."

"You know you love me," she said with a smile in her voice. "Call me later and let me know how it went, okay?"

"Yeah," Kandi replied as they hung up. She closed her eyes fighting back tears. She'd never cried so much in her entire life as she had in the last two days. "Damn it, Zack. I wish you were here."

* * *

The sun was starting to set at five o'clock. Damn this time change. It sucked. Kandi zipped her leather jacket up and continued chewing on her lip, looking up at the door to Seventh Heaven. She had forgone her Turk uniform in favor of jeans and a black button up. She wore her stiletto boots that 'rocked her ass', as Rude liked to put it, black leather jacket and gloves and her black newsboy hat. She hadn't known what to wear. She didn't want to look old and...parental. But she didn't want to look like an assassin either. So, she had opted with what she was comfortable with; her clothes. She was just going to be herself, goth bracelets and everything. Even her earrings were in, all three of them. Rude was working on that. He did convince her to get her nose pierced, so her little diamond stud was sitting in her right nostril. 

"Oh shit, she's gonna think I'm lame, trying to be cool," she fretted. A hand rested on her shoulder and she instinctively grabbed it and dislocated the wrist, snapped the elbow out of socket and was very close to dislocating the shoulder itself when she realized...she had Reeve in a submission hold, screaming in pain.

"Oh shit!" she cried, letting him go and throwing her hands up. "Reeve! Damn it! I'm sorry! It's reflex! I'm sorry!"

Reeve bit his lip to keep from crying like a girl, grabbing his arm in agony. "Help me inside, please," he forced out.

"Sure, sure," she said, going to his other side and leading him inside the bar.

"Oh my gods, what happened?" Tifa asked as she saw Reeve's face twisted in pain. She rushed over and checked him over. "We're you attacked?"

"No, damn it, it was me," Kandi said, leaping over the bar and getting some ice. "He put his hand on my shoulder and reflex kicked in. His wrist is dislocated and his elbow is all fucked up, but I stopped before I snapped his shoulder all to shit."

She stopped when she heard giggling in front of her. Looking up, she saw Marlene and Denzel sitting at the bar on either side of a girl with black hair, streaked red...and violet eyes. Oddly enough, they were glowing.

Zack's eyes.

Kandi stared into the girl's smiling face. "You know, I think Mr. Tuesti would like that ice before it melts," she said with a smirk.

The Turk looked down at the bag of ice in her hands. "Oh...right," she said, tying it off. "Tifa, here."

Tifa caught the bag as it was tossed to her, placing it on Reeve's swelling joints. "Do you know how to relocate everything you dislocated?" she asked her.

"Uh, yeah," Kandi answered, hopping on the counter and landing on the other side, casting Andria a sideways glance. Her daughter was watching her. She took Reeve's elbow and snapped it back into place, following with his wrist. "That should do it."

"That was totally wicked!" Denzel exclaimed, having jumped down to watch the procedure. "Did you hear them pop?! Do me! Do me!"

"No!" Kandi and Tifa both said.

"Denzel, it hurts," Tifa told him.

"Like a son of a bitch," Kandi added, covering her mouth with her hand and looking guiltily at Tifa. "Sorry."

"They hear worse from Barret and Cid," Tifa said with a smile, rolling her eyes. She gestured to the bar. "Have a seat. Want a drink?"

"Just Coke and lime," she said, really not wanting to give into the temptation of drinking her nerves away. _Oh hell, this was not the way I pictured this_, she thought. Denzel climbed back up at the bar, moving a seat over and Tifa sat her drink down at the stool between the boy and Andria. She took a deep breath and sat down, unzipping her jacket and removing it and her gloves, tossing them down the bar on the other side of Denzel. She took her hat off and tossed it on top of the other articles, running a nervous hand through her own red streaks.

Andria looked up at her, reaching her hand out to finger through her hair. "Are those natural?" she asked, studying the red against the dark brown.

Kandi took a sip of her drink and nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "I can't dye them out either. They keep coming back."

"I guess I get mine from you then," Andria said with a smile. "But I guess my eyes come from my dad, right? And the black hair?"

Kandi laughed a little. "Actually, you get your eyes and your black hair from your mom," she said, blushing slightly. "I'm your dad."

"Denzel, Marlene go upstairs and finish your homework, okay?" Tifa said sweetly. "I'll call you down after a while so you can watch 'Midgarian Idol'."

Grumbling but obeying nonetheless, they went upstairs. Tifa mixed a drink and took it over to Reeve, sitting with him at a table and giving Kandi and Andria a little privacy.

"Okay, so what, you had a sex change or something?" Andria asked taking a drink of her soda. "'Cause, you know, that's cool or whatever. Whatever makes you happy."

_Open minded little thing_, Kandi thought proudly. "Temporary one," she answered, turning in the bar stool and sitting cross-legged on it. "Do you know how me and...your other parent are involved?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he was like a First Class SOLIDER or something and you worked for him," she answered.

"His name was Zackary Fair," Kandi began. "He was second in command of SOLDIER under General Sephiroth. He was a great guy."

"How'd you guys meet?" Andria asked, sticking a pretzel in her mouth.

"Well, I used to work at the Honey Bee," the Turk explained. "Zack came there a bit and we met that way. He offered me a job as his secretary and I took it."

"So, you used to be a Honey Bee girl?" she asked, chewing thoughfully. "Like a prostitute?"

Kandi took a sip. "Yeah," she answered. "That bother you?"

Andria shrugged. "Hey, who am I to judge?" she asked. "I don't know what you had to go through or what you had to do to survive. From what I've been told, Midgar was a pretty fucked up place."

Kandi spewed soda out her nose to hear her eight year old daughter say 'fuck'. She laughed. "Oh damn, and I thought I was going to be a bad influence on you!"

Andria giggled. "Deepground? Hello?" she said. "Azul was a walking swear and Rosso could give him a run for his money. Freaks." She took another drink and crunched her ice. "Okay, so you've always been a chick, then? How are you my dad and Zack's my mom?"

"Okay, you know Hojo, the scientist?" she asked.

Andria nodded. "He's the one who took me to Deepground," she said. "He was weird."

"You have no idea," Kandi said bitterly. "But he made this stuff. We called it the Green Sludge. When consumed, it altered the gender of that person. It would make males into females and vice versa. Zack and I had been working together for a while and we were in a sexual relationship. So, we decided to try it out. That's the night you were conceived."

Andria blinked. "So, you were a dude, Zack was a chick, you fucked him, knocked him up and he had me?" she asked.

"Uh, well, it's not that simple," Kandi said, scratching her neck. Reeve was right. The kid was mature. "Okay, we took the antidote and changed back. Zack left for a mission a few days later to Nibelheim. He...never came back. I didn't know he was pregnant; he didn't know he was pregnant. Something went terribly, terribly wrong on the mission and Zack ended up in the labs at ShinRa Manor in the basement. Hojo experimented on him, found out he was pregnant, performed some memory extraction and discovered what we had done. He kept him in a Mako enduced coma until you were born, delivered by caesarean. After that...Zack...died."

Andria looked up at her with sad eyes. "He's dead?" she whispered. "After all that, he died?" Kandi nodded. "How?"

"I don't know," she answered softly.

"I do."

They turned and saw Cloud watching them, listening to the story so far. He sat down on the other side of Andria, telling of how Zack had helped him escape from the labs, how they had ran from ShinRa, nearly making it to Midgar when Zack was gunned down. "He died on the bluff overlooking Midgar," Cloud told them, resting his hand on Tifa's as she came behind him and squeezed his shoulders. "He almost made it, but died helping me. I placed his Buster sword there as a memorial to him."

Kandi wiped her eyes, her heart ripping apart to realize how close Zack had been to coming home. "Thanks, Cloud," she said hoarsely. "Thanks for letting us know."

He nodded and smiled, lifting Andria's chin in his hands. "He was my best friend," he told her. "I loved him like a brother. He'd be proud of you, to know he had such a great daughter. And that he was the one to give her life."

Andria smiled up at Cloud through her own tears. "Thanks," she said. She looked back at Kandi. "If it's okay with you, I think I'd rather refer to Zack as Dad and you as Mom...okay?"

Kandi's heart caught in her throat and she nodded slowly. "Yeah, if that's, you know, what you want," she replied.

Andria shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I mean, it's not ideal," she said with a smile. "But I'll take what I can get."

"Damn it if she doesn't sound like you," Reeve said in awe. "Andria, the choice is yours. Do you want to say with Cloud and Tifa or do you want to move in with your...mother?"

Andria looked from Cloud and Tifa to Kandi. "I can visit, right?" she asked the former AVALANCHE members.

Tifa nodded, smiling through her tears. "Any time," she said. "And you can come by after school everyday until your mom gets off work and can pick you up."

Kandi gave her a silent 'thank you'. "Is that what _you_ want, Andria?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, if you want a really fucked up science experiment kid hanging around you all the time," she said with a lopsided grin. Kandi smirked. Andria looked just like Zack with that grin.

Kandi held out her hand. "You bet I do," she said, drawing Andria into a hug. "If you don't mind an ex-Honey Bee, former secretary Turk rookie as a mom."

"You're a Turk?!" she asked in disbelief, her arms still wrapped around Kandi's waist. "Seriously?! That's so cool! How many different ways can you kill someone?"

"Thirteen with a necktie alone," Reeve told her with a smile.

Kandi laughed and looked down at her daughter. "I'm going to look at a few apartments tomorrow," she said. "Right now I live with my work partners. Do you want to stay the rest of the week here and we'll move in this weekend?"

"Sure," she said happily. "But...you'll come see me everyday...right?"

"Yeah," Kandi answered. "We've got to go shopping for furniture and stuff."

"Can I have my own room?" Andria asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah," Kandi said.

"Can I decorate it anyway I want?!"

"Yeah."

"Can we have ice cream for dinner?!"

"Occassionally."

"REALLY?!"

"Yeah."

"Can I get my nose pierced, too?"

"When you hit double digits."

"Damn."

"I could make you wait until you're the same age I was when I got mine done."

"Which is?"

"Twenty-six."

"Double digits is good," Andria smirked. She hugged Kandi again. "Thanks for finding out about me, Mom."

Kandi grinned back. "No problem."

* * *

_**A/N: Fluffy at the end. There will be more...**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: What's in store for my poor little screw up now? Hmmm...little note on Rude. Sunglasses come off, voice box opens. Kinda like Tseng's Turk uniform. He's out of it, he's a cool guy. He's in it, he's the stick-up-his-ass boss.**_

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but this hat...but it's a cool hat._**

* * *

Kandi timidly knocked at the door, two things she never did when going into Rude's office. Timid was not a word used to describe her and they were so passed the knocking stage in their relationship. Unless of course it was a reference to boots. 

_Ba da ching!_

Oi, she was nervous. She always made jokes when she was nervous. This sucked. This really, really sucked. How was this conversation going to play out?

_Kandi: Hey Baby! So, I just found out I have a kid.  
Rude: ...  
Kandi: Yeah, see evidently when I grew a penis and fucked Zack up real good, I knocked him up! Surprise!  
Rude: ...(takes out gun and blows brain out)_

Okay, maybe not that extreme, but..."Come in."

She opened the door and quietly walked in, shutting it behind her. Rude looked up and cocked his head. "What's with the knock?" he asked with a grin. "You know you can always just barge in."

"Yeah, well this visit kinda warrants an appearance from the all mighty knock," she said, sitting cross-legged on his desk. "I got something I gotta tell you."

Rude sat back and laced his fingers over his stomach. "Shoot," he said.

She leaned forward and reached for his sunglasses. "I need to see your true reaction to this," she said, taking them off and placing them on her own head. She grinned. "Besides, you've got sexy eyes."

Rude chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "What's up, Babe?" he asked.

"You know the rumors that went around a while back about me and Zack using the Green Sludge voluntarily?" she asked. He nodded. "Yeah, well those rumors were true."

"No."

She looked at him strangely. "Huh?"

"No."

"No what?"

"No, I won't transform myself into a woman," he deadpanned. "I would be one ugly bald broad."

She let out a much needed laugh. "That's not what I was trying to get at," she said, scratching her nose. "But thanks for the visual."

He grinned, leaning forward again and placing his hands on her legs. "Come on, Baby," he said softly, rubbing her thighs gently. "What's bugging you?"

"I just found out a few days ago that when Zack and I did that," she took a deep breath. "I got him pregnant."

Rude's eyes widened. "Whoa," he said. "But he turned back to a dude."

"And went to Nibelheim right after that," she finished. She studied him. "I know you knew he was still alive."

Rude blew out a breath. "Yeah," he said, running a hand over his head as he leaned back in his chair. "I did. I wish I could have told you. I know how much his death hurt you."

"I understand, though," she said. "I know he was gunned down on the bluff on the outskirts of town."

Rude nodded, his eyes shining with the painful memories. "Tseng told those assholes to bring them back alive," he growled. "The military got to them before we could and by then, it was too late. He was already gone."

"You were assigned to the retrieval after Zack and Cloud escaped?" she asked, shocked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm so sorry I couldn't bring him back to you, Kandi."

Kandi smiled and touched his cheek tenderly. "Not your fault," she said softly. "But, this story keeps going. When Hojo got a hold of Zack, he found out he was pregnant. He kept him in a Mako induced coma for the gestation then delivered the baby caesarean. She's still alive."

Rude looked shocked this time. "What?" he asked hoarsely.

"My daughter is still alive," she told him. "Hojo put her in Deepground and Reeve found her there. She's perfectly healthy, a bit of a smart ass and has Zack's eyes."

"You always loved his eyes," he murmured, a trace of hurt lacing his voice. He looked up at her. "She's safe?"

"Yeah."

"You've met her then?" She nodded. "She knows you're her...father?"

"She's opted to call me 'Mom' and refer to Zack as 'Dad'. She's moving in with me this weekend," she said, watching his eyes. "I'm moving to another apartment in the same building I'm at now. It's nice. Three bedroom, two bath. Nice big kitchen with a bar to hang all my glasses over."

Rude swallowed hard, trying to avoid her gaze. "You...need some help with the heavy shit?" he asked.

"That'd be nice," she answered with a smile. "Then you could stay for dinner."

"What does this mean for us?" he asked abruptly. "I mean, is there even an 'us' anymore?"

"I want there to be," she said softly. "But I didn't know how you would feel knowing I have a kid."

"That shit don't matter to me," he told her, rising to his feet and looking down at her. "You have a daughter. That's great. Not many Turks get the chance to have kids, let alone raise them." He cupped her face in his hands. "And I'll help you, any way I can. I know I'll never be Zack, I won't ever try to replace him, but..."

She silenced him with a fierce kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing him back in his chair, straddling his lap. After several moments, she broke away smiling into his surprised face. "I don't want a replacement for Zack," she told him. "I've got you, Rude. And you're what I want."

He grinned up at her. "You got me then," he said gruffly. He patted her backside and snatched his sunglasses off her head, placing them on his face. "Work."

Kandi stole the glasses again and tossed them over her shoulder. "No work," she said, nipping at his throat. "Play."

Rude closed his eyes and groaned. "Yes, my MILF," he said, causing her to giggle.

* * *

**_A/N: Sorry. I'm all about some angst followed by fluff. Plus, now Rude knows and he's cool with it. I like Rude. Rude makes me happy. Rude is very...grrrr...sexy. Review, please._**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Even more discoveries...**_

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the bad judgment of giving my two-year old a tambourine to play with. Oi!_**

* * *

Akalara sat down at her desk and opened her email inbox. "Forwards from Elena...delete; free samples of Erectoblast...I don't have a penis...maybe Kandi wants this...heh heh...forward; uh oh...email from Tseng," she said, arching a green eyebrow in question. She opened the email. 

_Akalara:_

_Please meet me in my office at precisely 8:30 am. We have something we need to discuss._

_Tseng_

"Oh shit," she whispered. "He knows I was in here with Kandi Sunday night. Damn, damn, DAMN!" She picked up her phone and hit the brunette's extension.

"Amazon Queen speaking," came the slightly muffled voice of her constantly eating colleague. How she stayed so fit was a mystery to everyone. Wild circus sex with Rude must help.

"What the HELL?!" Akalara screamed into the receiver. "Did you rat me out to Tseng and tell him I was here with you this weekend going through the confidential files?"

"...uh, no," Kandi replied. "I didn't say jack shit to him, so quit yelling at me, Green Bitch!"

"Then why does he want to see me in his office at 8:30 with something 'we need to discuss'?"

"I don't know," she said sarcastically. "Maybe Elena's withholding and he needs a quick fuck and figures he'd get the loosest whore in the ranks."

"Then why didn't he call you?" she retorted. "I'm sure you still have your stinger, Honey Bee."

Kandi banged the receiver on the edge of her desk, causing Akalara's ear to ring. "You gods damned bitch!" Kandi yelled. "I can't believe you'd fucking hold that over my head after all these years!"

"I can't believe you'd rat me out to the Bossman!"

"I didn't rat you out, you cock sucking ho bag!"

"Whatever and fuck you, you diseased whore!"

"I am not diseased!"

"Yet you confess to the whore?"

Kandi slammed her phone down in it's cradle, causing her partners to jump. "Fucking bitch!" she screamed at the hung up phone.

"What'd she want?" Ram asked taking a sip of her Bailey's laced coffee. "That was Akalara, right?"

Kandi glared at the phone still, then looked up at her partners. "Tseng wants to see her and she thinks I told him she was here with me Sunday night," she explained. "I didn't though. Dumb bitch should know that I would never rat anyone out."

"Why didn't you call us?" Katrina asked, slight hurt lacing her voice. "I mean, we're your Sistas. We should have been here for you when you found that shit out about your kid."

Kandi sighed and rose from her desk, plopping down on the couch in their shared office. "I know, Guys, and I'm sorry if I hurt you not calling you," she began. "But Ak was there during that time. You guys don't know how close we all were. I guess I just needed someone who had lost someone, too."

"Who did Akalara lose?" Ram asked as she and Katrina flopped down on either side of their friend.

"Sephiroth."

Katrina spewed coffee at that. "Sephiroth?!" she nearly shrieked. "She fucked the General?!"

"Quite regularly, actually," Kandi answered with a grin.

"Okay," Ram said, draping her arm around the woman sandwiched between her and Katrina. "We're not letting you up until you tell us everything that went down 'back in the day'. Start talking, Queenie."

* * *

Akalara stormed out of her office and went down the hall towards Tseng's. She was so never speaking to Kandi again. She should have stayed and beat Revan to a quivering, horny pulp instead. Damn misplaced loyalty. No wonder she never trusted anyone. You start trusting someone, caring about them and they betray you. 

Or die.

The green-haired woman bit her lip to keep that memory from resurfacing. Her silver-haired lover had been gone for eight years and killed a grand total of three times. He was gone. She'd do well to remember that.

Knocking at Tseng's door, she waited until he gave a call to come in. She stepped inside and stared at her boss. "You wished to see me, Sir?" she asked.

"Close the door, please," Tseng said coolly. Akalara did as she was instructed. Tseng gestured to a chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

Akalara mentally cursed Kandi as she sat down. Damn bitch couldn't keep her fucking mouth shut. "Yes, Sir."

Tseng steepled his fingers together and leaned forward, elbows on the desk. Standard Tseng intimidation stance. She was fucked. "Do you know why I called you in here?" he asked.

"I have an idea, Sir," she said through clenched teeth. "Does it have something to do with a certain red-streaked Turk who recently discovered something she wasn't supposed to?"

Tseng sighed. "Yes," he replied. "Kandi discovering her daughter's existence has lifted a very heavy burden off of my shoulders, one I should not have been forced to have. However, there is yet another secret that weighs heavily upon me." He rose to his feet and came around his desk, standing to her side, his hands clasped behind his back. "I know about Azrael, the child you created with Sephiroth."

Akalara jumped up so fast, her chair toppled over. Her face went deathly pale as she tried to make a break for the door, desperation surging through her to get to her son before any of her colleagues could. Tseng stopped her before she could get that far, grasping her shoulders firmly. "Don't hurt him!" she screamed, pounding his chest with all her strength. "I swear to every god there is, if you harm one hair on his head, I will blow this mother fucking building off the face of the Planet and everyone in it!"

"Akalara," Tseng said firmly. "I won't let any harm come to him. I haven't since I delivered him at Icicle Inn eight years ago."

Akalara was shaking violently, the need to hold her son so strong, it was palatable. "What are you talking about?" she asked weakly. "You weren't there. No one knew."

"I knew, Verdot knew...and Hojo knew," Tseng told her.

Akalara collapsed on the ground, her legs giving way beneath her. Tseng knelt on the ground with her, still holding her shoulders. "How?" she whispered.

"You tried to hide it, very well," Tseng told her. "Everyone knew you and Sephiroth had a physical relationship. After Nibelheim, Verdot and I noticed you getting sick at various intervals during the day. I broke into your locker and found the positive pregnancy test. Hojo also had his suspicions and ordered me to follow you to Icicle Inn. I agreed, first telling Verdot of the order. We devised a plan. I was to pose as a midwife staying at the inn and help you deliver the baby. Once the child was delivered, I was to tell Hojo it was stillborn and you almost died during childbirth. The baby was cremated so he would not have access to the corpse and your womb was destroyed due to the trauma of the pregnancy, making both of you unsuitable for his experiments."

Akalara had finally broke and was softly sobbing on the floor. "You weren't there," she insisted. "I never saw you."

Tseng reached into his jacket pocket and produced a glowing yellow orb. Disguise materia. "Yes, you did," he said gently. "I brought you hot chocolate, I held your hand." The orb activated and transformed the handsome Wutain into a motherly older woman. Akalara sobbed harder. "I brought your child into this world, love."

"You were Hilda?" she whispered, clutching at the person in front of her, burying her face against Hilda's shoulder.

Hilda melted away and Tseng returned, wrapping his arms around the woman in front of him. "I was Hilda," he confirmed. "Verdot sent me to ensure you and your child would be safe."

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you see fit to do it?"

Tseng smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Turks take care of their own," he replied simply. "Even trainees."

Akalara laughed softly at that, relief washing over her. She pulled herself away and wiped her eyes. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Really. I mean that."

Tseng nodded and patted her cheek tenderly. "There is nothing to worry about now, Akalara," he told her. "Hojo is gone. Rufus does not condone the same experiments his father did. Nothing will happen to Azrael. Bring him home. I swear on my honor that nothing will happen to him."

Akalara was hesitant, but she nodded nonetheless. "No one else can know," she told him.

Tseng smiled. "If the Turks know, he'll have more people protecting him," he pointed out. "We're family, Akalara. You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us."

She exhaled heavily. "All right," she said with a smile. "I'll bring him home."

* * *

The door to the Amazon's office opened and Akalara stepped in, staring at the three women chatting on the sofa. Kandi rose to her feet and glared at her. "What?" she asked warily.

Akalara gave her a timid smile and went to her, giving her a hug. "Sorry," she said, the word having difficulty coming out of her mouth. "I should have known."

Kandi grinned and hugged her back. "You're not just looking for a good place to stick a knife, are you?" she joked.

The green haired woman laughed. "Nah," she told her, pulling back. "Tseng knows...about Az. I'm bringing him home."

"No shit, really?" she asked, leading her to the couch. "Well you got her just in time. I was telling Trina and Ram about all of us. You can feel them in on some details."

Katrina and Ram scooted further apart to make room for the other woman, wanting to hear the rest of the story. Kandi reached into her inside jacket pocket and pulled out a six-pack of beer. "This story warrants some booze, ya think?"

"How the fuck do you do that?" Katrina asked, grabbing a beer. "You are one weird chick."

Kandi just shrugged. "Go on, Ak," she said. "Tell them about Azrael."

Akalara took a drink and began her story.

* * *

_**A/N: I think, up next, is moving day. Hilda and Disguise Materia belong to dantesdarkqueen. Review, pretty please.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: Moving day! P.S. I personally know Jack Shit about electronics, so this is all BS, okay? Well, I can wire Cat5's through a building, but that's about it. And I did set up an entire network at my old job, but...yeah...Jack Shit and BS, okay? Okay! P.P.S. dantesdarkqueen owns the game names 'Demon May Weep', 'SoulBlade' and the gaming system the 'Game Station'. Axel is a dog that Sephiroth gives to Kandi in 'Evidence of Sephiorth's Humanity', also by dantesdarkqueen. We've combined our fics! Of course I'm using stuff from hers!_**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the iPod featured in this chapter. It's a cool iPod, with a lot of cool songs. Yay for my iPod!_**

* * *

_My heart knows me better than I know myself  
So I'm gonna let it do all the talking_

"Woo hoo!" Kandi exclaimed as the song blasted through her newly set up, totally customized, surround sound entertainment system in all three bedrooms, both bathrooms, the kitchen and the living room. Oh yes, wires and connectors and speakers, oh my! They turned her on...big time. And no one could see the speakers. The were itty, bitty, teeny, tiny Bose speakers which she had hidden within the walls of the rooms. If she turned the bass up too far, the walls would be shaking from the inside out.

Electronics were so cool.

The music blaring was coming from her iPod she had sitting in it's 'Base of Operations' as she had dubbed it. The base was then hooked up to the speakers in each room via a control panel, allowing her to switch off the speakers in each individual room. She had done this in case her daughter, gods forbid, didn't have the same taste of music as she did. Oh yeah, and she had a similar set up in Andria's room. With a brand new dark purple iPod waiting to be filled with new songs. Downloaded off her new dark purple laptop. Which could be hooked up to her new shiny black Game Station 3 for optimum MMORPG performance. Which could also be hooked up to her 37 inch flat screen plasma TV that was hanging on her wall.

Oh yes, she was spoiling her daughter. But it was hella fun!

Kandi had waken up super early this morning, heading down to her new apartment to start the wiring needed for her massive electronics addiction. There were boxes sitting on the floor, waiting to be unpacked, bags of new things needing to be put in their places, dishes to be put up. She had put the ice cream up. She didn't want that to melt. But she figured, she would handle the stuff that she was an expert in (ie. electronics) and let her friends unback the other shit when they got there.

First thing she had set up was the security system. The apartment didn't come with one, so she made one. She had gathered the retinal information from all of the Turks she worked with and programmed it into the security system, letting it know that those people were allowed in at any time. They were family. If they needed a beer and were in the area and she wasn't home, they could scan their eyes and boom! Instant access and beer. Of course, she'd have to tell Andria about this and scan her pretty little violet eyes, too, but at least it made her feel safer.

Oh, and anybody not on the retinal database who tried to get in would receive precisely three-hundred volts of electricity shot through their body when they touched the doorknob while a text message alert was sent to her cellphone as well as to Turk headquarters and the local law enforcement office, resulting in a nearly instant arrest of the person when/if they came back into consciousness. Mwah ha ha. No one was messing with her kid. But for the sake of moving day, it was temporarily disabled.

Next, had been her computer. Her baby, her pride and joy. She had built this little jewel from the motherboard up. Everything else electronic would be operated from this computer. She could access Andria's laptop if she wanted to, but she wouldn't. Privacy was important and unless she suspected her of Anti-ShinRa terrorism, it wouldn't be necessary. From this computer, this gorgeous, powerful 10,000 gig computer, she could access all of ShinRa's database, all of the W.R.O's database, including Commissioner Reeve Tuesti's personal computer (which had some slightly disturbing sites on his browsing history, involving robtic bedmates), all at a speed of 0.000001 seconds per click. Oh yeah, bring it bitch!

The darling was set up in the third bedroom, to act as an office away from the office. You know, in case of sick days or if Andria was sick. No way was she going to work if her daughter was sick. Nuh uh. Tseng could fuck himself with a hard drive before that happened.

Next, came her Game Station 3. Yes, the electronics store dude was hella happy when she came in, bringing good tidings of much gil and leaving with two Game Station 3's, three 37 inch flat screen plasma TVs (one for Andria's room, her room, and the home office), two new laptops (she wanted one too!), an iPod, a 52 inch flat screen plasma TV (for the living room), a router, wires, connectors, four universal remotes, and a robot vacuum cleaner. She hated vacuuming. Let the AI do it.

And now, she had just finished hooking up her entertainment system. The 52 inch flat screen plasma TV was sitting proudly on the wall. It had a built in DVD/BlueRay player in the side and right now it was freeze framed on the gorgeous visage of Captain Jack Sparrow. "Welcome to my new home, People," she smirked, resisting the urge to lick the screen.

Her bedroom furniture was all that needed to be moved from the penthouse the floor up. She and the other Amazons had all pitched in together when they moved in to buy the other furniture, so it was staying. Ram and Katrina had both went in together and bought her a brand new living room suite (black leather...WOOT!), black leather bar stools for the bar (WOOT!) and a new kitchen table (black iron...WOOT!). She had also bought a new washer and dryer to go in the laundry room. Yes, the apartment had a laundry room. No laundramat for this Turk, hell no!

There was a knock on the door and Kandi squealed in delight at her first helper. She opened the door and grinned up at Rude. Rude's eyes immediately went to her chest and he grinned. "Okay, if you say so," he said, rushing into the apartment and closing the door, tackling her to the ground. Kandi laughed in surprise as he began attacking her neck with kisses, his hands roaming over her body.

"Ah, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed in between laughter. "My bed's not set up yet!"

"Just doing what the T-shirt says," he told her.

Kandi pushed him off and looked at her T-shirt. The dark brown shirt bore the message in bright purple letters, 'Fuck Me! I'm HORNY!' She laughed. "It was dark when I got dressed this morning," she explained, giving him a quick kiss. "Probably not the best shirt to be wearing, but it works."

Rude checked her out and his smile widened. In addition to the T-shirt, she wore a pair of tight blue jeans with her tool belt. He loved that tool belt. That tool belt could get him rock hard in an instant. "Been working already?" he asked lowly.

Her eyes began to sparkle with excitement and he knew the answer. She leapt to her feet and grabbed his hand, showing him all her cool new electronic equipment. He had to admit; he was impressed. The girl could wire anything, anywhere. "You dropped a shitload of gil, Babe," he said, checking out her new games for the GS3. "Demon May Weep 4! This just came out!"

"I know, right?" she said excitedly. "We'll break into tonight after everythings done before we hit the sack."

He looked at her over the tops of his sunglasses. "You want me to stay the night?" he asked. "First night with the kid and you want your lover over."

She shrugged. "We'll see how it goes," she said. "Whether you stay or not, we'll still start it, okay?"

"You are every fifteen year old boys' dream girl, you know that?" he laughed. "You get so into these RPGs and gaming systems and computers."

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her body against his. "Yeah, but you're not fifteen, so you know what to do with me," she purred. She pushed him away and smacked his ass. "Now, let's get to work. I need those big, strong muscles to carry some shit."

Rude grabbed her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. "You got it, Babe," he said as he carried her to the elevator and up to the penthouse, her laughter echoing down the halls.

* * *

Nearly lunchtime and her apartment was full of people. She had been attacked to the ground twice more by Reno and Joel because of her T-shirt, the two men receiving a black eye from Rude for their efforts. Tifa and Cloud had brought Marlene, Denzel and Andria over. Tifa was in the kitchen unpacking her dishes and arranging her glasses over the bar. She had brought her a box of liquor, stocking her supply. 

"Don't worry," she had told her with a smile. "Andria knows to stay away from it."

Cloud was helping move the furniture in with Rude, Joel and Randak, Kandi not trusting the movers to do it without tearing it. Denzel and Marlene were in Andria's room with Nilto and Randak's two kids, Kaya and Damian, setting up all of her stuff and taking turns playing her new Game Station 3.

When Andria had went into her room, she had shrieked like the little girl she was, running out of the room and grabbing Kandi in a fierce hug, dragging her into the room. "I've got my own TV! I've got my own laptop! I've got my own GS3! I've got my own iPod! And you got the bed I wanted!" she screamed. Kandi had indeed gotten the bed she wanted. She had asked for the bunk bed with the futon on the bottom to act as a couch and a spare bed when she had friends over to spend the night. Currently, she, Marlene and Kaya (who was seven) were fixing the beds up with her dark purple and black bedding while Denzel played Soulblade on the GS3, showing Damian, who was only five, how to play the game.

Nilto was in the kitchen with Tifa, stocking the shelves and pantry with a ton of good, healthy food that her kids liked, and she figured Andria would like as well. Macaroni and cheese, beef ravioli, baked potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter, Fruit Roll-Ups. She and Tifa were chatting up a storm and making notes of recipes they knew their kids liked and hoped Kandi would find useful in raising Andria.

Niki had come in with Reno and was keeping Kandi's dog Axel out of the way. She was sitting in the corner with him in her lap and a bag of marshmellows and a skewer, holding the marshmellow in front of him and watching as he breathed fire and roasted the marshmellow to perfection. Niki giggled and hugged the dog, sharing her marshmellows with him.

Katrina was trying to sneak some booze out of the newly stocked bar, but Tifa kept slapping her hand away. Finally, the martial artist got fed up with it and put the rookie Turk in a full Nelson. "Vincent, please get your girlfriend to AA," she said with a laugh. "In my professional opinion as a bartender, she has a serious problem."

Ram and Sage were in Kandi's home office, checking out the massive beast of a computer. Sage was drooling over the power it had and had to close the door so the kids wouldn't see him molest Ram in his state of horniness. The office was officially broken in before lunch.

Tseng and Elena were arranging Kandi's DVD and CD collection in the shelfs Tseng and Vincent had set up on either side of the TV. There was a soft knocking on the door and Kandi looked to see her green-haired friend coming in, followed by a stack of pizzas with black hair. "Hey," Kandi said going to Akalara and giving her a hug. "Glad you could make it."

"Sorry we're late," she said, taking a few of the pizzas away from the stack and revealing a very handsome little boy with piercing cranberry red eyes and a sharp, noble nose and shoulder length black hair. She could see just a small trace of silver underneath it. He smiled shyly and shifted his gaze to the floor. "But Azrael thought it would be nice to get lunch for everyone since you all have been working so hard."

Kandi knelt down to get eye level with her friend's son, with _both_ of her friends' son. "Hey Az," she said with a grin. "I'm Kandi. I've known both your mom and dad for a long time. Glad to finally meet you."

"Thank you," he said politely. "I like your apartment."

"Hey thanks!" she said standing up and ruffling his hair. She turned to Akalara. "You want to make the introductions?"

She nodded. Kandi grinned and turned to everyone. "Hey guys!" she said. "Akalara brought pizza!"

"Woo hoo!" the cheers went up from the ravenous movers. The kids came running out of Andria's room at the mention of pizza. Andria stopped when she saw Azrael and blushed.

"H-hey Az," she said shyly.

Azrael looked up and grinned at seeing a familiar face. "Hey Andi!" he said rushing over to her. "Gods, I didn't know I'd see you here. Are you helping move, too?"

"Uh, this is my new house," she said, blushing even brighter. She gestured to Kandi with her head. "That's my mom."

Azrael smiled at her. "You found her?" he asked. "That's cool! What about your dad?"

"He...died," she said. "About three years ago. His name was Zachary Fair."

Azrael's pale face went a little paler. "I know that name," he said quietly. "He was Sephiroth's second in command."

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

Andria shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "Let's get some pizza. You wanna see my room? Denzel, Marlene and Kaya are here, too."

"Oh cool, yeah!" he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the kitchen. The got plates from Tifa and cups of soda from Nilto.

"Hey Mom?" Andria asked. "Can we eat in my room?"

"Sure," she said with a smile.

Andria grinned. "Thanks, Mom!" she said, leading the way.

Azrael stopped and whispered something to his mother and she nodded, smiling when he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Whose the kid, Akalara?" Reno asked, bending down to kiss her other cheek.

"He's...mine," she said softly. Everyone stopped eating and stared at her. Revan's mouth hung open mid bite as he waited. "He's my son."

"Whoa," Brit said, plopping down on Torr's lap. "How come we never knew about him?"

"Because of his father," Akalara said.

"What, dickhead didn't want everyone to know he knocked you up?" Nina asked.

The green-haired woman shook her head. "No, he died before he found out I was pregnant," she said.

"Oh, Ak," Silhouette said. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, what happened?" N.C. asked.

"Maybe she doesn't want to talk about," Magni added.

"Yeah, could be painful," said Wei.

"No, it's okay," Akalara said. "He's kinda famous."

"Like a rockstar?" Widdow asked.

"Cool!" Feather exclaimed.

"Who is it?" Black asked.

"No, he's not a rockstar," she said. "He was in the ShinRa military. He was a very powerful man."

Cloud paled and Tifa covered her mouth with her hands. Vincent closed his eyes, a small, pained smile covering his lips.

"Azrael's father...is Sephiroth."

Kai was the first to speak. "You've kept him secret to protect him," she stated more than asked.

Akalara nodded.

"It's safe now for her to bring him home, though," Tseng said. "There is no risk of anyone in the labs trying to experiment on him. And now that his extended family knows who his father is, he has that much more protection. Correct?"

"Hell yeah," Katrina was the first to say. "No one messes with mini-Turks."

Tifa pulled Cloud aside and whispered to him. Cloud's eyes were downcast, but he smiled and nodded at what she said. Tifa beamed and kissed his cheek. "Akalara," she said sweetly. "You are more than welcome to let Azrael come to the bar after school with Andria and the kids if you want," she said. "You can pick him up there after you get off work."

Akalara looked up in shock. "Really?" she asked in disbelief. "I didn't think you would want anything to do with him, considering who his father is."

"Doesn't matter," Cloud said. "I knew Sephiroth before the whole Jenova thing. He really was a great guy. She just got to his head. Azrael can't help that. He's just innocent in all of this. Like Sephiroth was."

Akalara smiled in appreciation. "Thank you," she whispered. "Really. Thanks."

Revan went to her side and kissed her gently. "Quit dying his hair," he said with a smile. "He looks more like Valentine's kid than Sephiorth's, especially with those red eyes."

"Those are mine," Akalara said with a smile.

He cupped her cheek and kissed her again. "I know," he grinned at her.

The rest of the moving went very well. Everything was set up, Niki managed to keep Axel from burning the place down, the kids had played and beaten every game that Andria had, new and old. Kaya and Marlene were spending the night with Andria, but they got Reno to promise that Axys could come over and have a slumber party with them next weekend. Everyone else had left for the night, Ram and Katrina giving Kandi a huge hug as they left, sad that their threesome was split by one floor. Rude, however, was staying.

He was in the shower and Kandi was sitting on her new leather sofa, eyes closed as she listened to Laseedra Vaneth's haunting voice singing the lyics of 'My Immortal'. She felt something land beside her and looked over to see her daughter snuggling in close to her. "Hey Kiddo," she said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Hey Mom," she replied with a smile. "We get everything done?"

"Yep, everything," she said. "We got a cool family, huh?"

"Uh huh," she said. "It's cool that you work with some of my best friends' parents. You know, Kaya, Axys and Az."

"Yeah, small world, huh?"

"Yeah," Andria said, clutching something to her chest. She pulled it away and showed Kandi. "Is that Daddy?"

Kandi took the framed picture and nodded, smiling at the picture. It was of the two of them at a bar, The Black Cat. If she remembered correctly, Sephiroth had taken that picture. It was the same night they had first met Akalara. "Yeah, that's Zack," she said.

"No wonder you liked him," Andria said with a grin. "Dad's a hottie."

Kandi laughed. "He was definitely that," she replied. "And he was a lot of fun to be with. Working or just hanging out. He always made me smile."

"So, what's up with you and Rude?" Andria asked. "You guys together?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much," she said. "Is...that okay?"

"Yeah, I like him," she said with a grin. "He's really cool and he looks like he can kick some major ass."

"Yeah, he can," she said. "I'm glad you like him."

"I'm glad _you_ like him," Andria teased.

"So, what's up with you and Az?" she asked. "I saw that bitchin' blush come to your face when you saw him in our living room. You got a crush on him or something?"

"Moooommmm!" Andria whinned, pushing against her and blushing. "Stop it!"

Kandi laughed. "Sorry," she said, kissing the top of her head. "You want some snacks to take into your room for your friends?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said, getting up to help her. They gathered some chips and drinks and put them on a tray.

"You got it or you need help?" Kandi asked, not wanting to push it.

Andria grinned. "I think I got it," she said. She began walking back to her room, then stopped. She sat the tray on the table and went back to Kandi, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I love you, Mom."

Kandi smiled and bent down, hugging her close. "I love you, too, Andria," she said.

Andria smiled and got the tray, heading back to her room. Kandi turned off the lights and went into her bedroom where Rude was just exiting the bathroom, his skin still damp from the shower. "Hey," he said. "Kids in bed?"

"There in Andria's room," she said, closing her door.

"Hmm, I don't know if you can keep from screaming," Rude said with a grin, his sunglasses free eyes twinkling at her.

"Doesn't matter," Kandi said, pulling a glowing green orb from her pocket. "Do you know how many cool uses a mastered Barrier materia has? Elena told me it keeps sound in."

"Care to test that theory?" Rude asked, unbuttoning her pants. "Because I'm more than ready to do what that damn T-shirt says."

Kandi cast the spell, surround her room in a green hue. "Way ahead of ya, Babe."

* * *

_**A/N: Epilogue up next. Review please!**_


	8. Epilogue

_**A/N: Again, listening to 'My Immortal' on repeat. **_

**_Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy-VII characters belong to the geniuses at SquareEnix. I bow in humble acceptance of this._**

* * *

She turned the ignition off and kicked down the bike's stand, feeling it sink into the soft dirt. Kandi took off her helmet and shook out her hair. Andria scooted back on the bitch seat and grasped at the leather, looking up the hill they were going to climb. 

"That's where Cloud said?" she asked, taking off her own helmet.

Kandi nodded, looking back at her daughter. "Yeah," she said, placing her sunglasses on her head. "Are you ready?"

Andria hopped off the bike, setting her helmet down on her seat. She held her hand out to Kandi. "Let's go...Mom."

Kandi did likewise and grasped her daughter's hand in hers as they started up the hill. It wasn't a far climb, but the heaviness of the moment pressed down on Kandi's heart when she saw the hilt of Zack's Buster sword glimmering in the sunlight. She let Andria lead her to the memorial Cloud had erected for their mutual friend, overcome by emptiness. She hadn't realized just how much she missed him until now.

"Wow," Andria said, dropping Kandi's hand and reaching out to touch the blade that had once been wielded by a hero. She looked up, her violet eyes shining. "This is Dad's sword?"

Kandi nodded, unable to find her voice. The blade, once so doted upon by it's carrier, was rusted and worn. The guard, which used to shine even in the darkest corner, was struggling to maintain the faint glimmer she had seen when topping the hill. The grip, once laced with the sweetest smelling leather she had ever breathed in, was frayed and worn. She sighed, closing her eyes and grasping the the worn leather, shivering from the chill of the grip.

"Zack," she whispered, not loud enough for Andria to hear her. Her hand, aching from grasping the cold handle, was suddenly enveloped in warmth. Opening her eyes slowly, she drew in a sharp breath as she stared into the most vivid, glowing violet eyes she had ever seen, a sob escaping her throat at the smile directed at her.

"Hey Kandi."

"Hey," she choked out, watching him in awe as he unwrapped her hand from around his sword and held it between his. "How..."

"Lifestream's a cool place," he told her with a grin as he moved closer to her. "Let's us visit people we care about from time to time, you know? Like, when they really need to see us."

"Like now?" she asked, still staring at him, feeling the heat radiating from his body again.

Zack's smile broadened, one hand reaching out to touch her cheek. "Yeah, like now," he said, stroking his thumb under her eye to remove the tears running from the brown depths. "Sorry I didn't come home."

Kandi closed her eyes at the pain that hit her just then, wincing as it almost became physical. "Do you have any idea what that did to me?" she asked hoarsely. "What that did to all of us when we heard that you and Seph were gone?"

He pulled her into his arms, coaxing her head down on his shoulder and stroking her hair. "If I could have changed it, I would have," he told her softly, squeezing her gently. "I-I don't know exactly what happened. Seph doesn't either. He's...really confused right now. He keeps talking about taking Akalara to Wutai."

Tears fell freely from her eyes now and she glanced over at Andria who had her back to them, staring out at Midgar. "She can't see us or hear us," Zack said, looking at their daughter with her. "She's lost in her own thoughts right now." Kandi nodded and looked back up at him, drowning in the violet of his eyes that still, in death, glowed with Mako light. "She's beautiful."

She laughed slightly and looked back to their child. "Yeah, she is," she replied. She looked back at him and ran her fingers through his hair. "She's got your eyes."

He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, tilting her chin up a bit. "She's got your lips," he murmured, his eyes closing slightly. "I never got to tell you before. You know you were more to me that just a fuck buddy. You were one of my best friends."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I know," she said, squeezing him tighter. "I did know that. You never made me feel...cheap, you know? I know what I was when we met, but you never treated me like that."

"You were too good for the Honey Bee," Zack told her. "You deserved better. I wanted you to realize that. You're smart, Kandi. Granted, your still damn hot..."

Kandi laughed at that and buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her arms tighter around him. "You're not so bad yourself for being dead and having had a child," she replied.

It was Zack's turn to laugh. Gods, she missed that sound! "Yeah, first man in history to give birth to a child," he said grinning madly. He placed his hand on her cheek again and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'm glad you found Rude. He's nuts about you."

"I'm kinda crazy about him, too," she answered with a smile, rubbing her nose against his. "I'm glad Aerith found you."

His smiled widened. "Yeah, I got my Flower Girl back," he said, placing her hand over his heart. She was surprised she could still feel a steady beat beneath her palm. "You'll always have a special place...right here, Kandi. Always."

"I know," she said with a nod. She placed his hand over her heart. "And you'll always be in mine. You're my hero, Zack. I'll never forget you. Never."

Zack pressed his lips to hers gently, a soft kiss, a kiss filled with tenderness, regret, friendship, and love. He pulled back and placed a chaste kiss to her forehead. "Take care of her," he said as he grasped her hands and stepped back slowly. "And yourself. I'll be watching out for both of you."

Kandi nodded, wiping her eyes with one hand as she desperately tried to hang onto him with the other. "I will," she whispered, finally letting go and watching as he smiled and turned, standing beside their daughter. He looked down at the little girl, stooping down to place a kiss to her cheek. Andria's hand lifted up where his lips had touched, turning toward him and seeing nothing. She turned and looked at her mother. Seeing the tears running from her eyes, she smiled in understanding, looking up a bit.

"Hey Daddy."

* * *

**_Fin._**


End file.
